CHRISTIE’S Hong Kong held four auctions of Chinese paintings, and a standalone sale of Fu Baoshi’s The Song of the Pipa Player, last month which together raised a total of HK$838,480,000 (US$107,917,593). Over half of the lots sold above Christie’s high estimate.

The first sale was the Chinese Contemporary Ink featuring work by Liu Dan, Tai Xiangzhou and Liu Kuo-Sung. The sale totalled HK$25,122,500 (US$3,231,896). The top lot for the sale was Li Huayi’s Misty Mountains which sold for HK$3,460,000 (US$255,330).

The second sale was Fine Chinese Classical Paintings and Calligraphy — totalling HK$205,888,750 (US$26,486,659). It included work by Weng Tonghe, Wang Duo and Xu Fang. The top painting was Wang Yuanqi’s Landscapes Inspired by Huang Gongwang which sold for HK$8,475,000 (US$6,236,0902).

The final sale was titled Fine Chinese Modern Paintings and totalled HK$377,496,250 (US$48,596,212). The top lot for the sale was Splashed Colour Lotus by Zhang Daqian which sold for HK$42,850,000 (US$5,516,208).

As well as the four auctions, there was a standalone sale of An Ode to the Past – Fu Baoshi’s The Song of the Pipa Player which was previously part of H H Kung’s collection. The Song of the Pipa Player was the highlight of the autumn series of sales selling for HK$204,850,000 (US$26,370,948).